Agricultural chemicals Australia registration and use guide
Check agricultural chemicals in Australia through APVMA product labels, permits and local use rules, then check food and feed residue limits separately.
To check agricultural chemicals in Australia, check product registration, permitted use and residues separately. APVMA approves active constituents, registers products and approves labels. State and territory rules also control chemical use. The Agvet Code sets out those separate approvals; Victoria's chemical-use guidance explains the national and local roles.
For a proposed use, start with the specific product's current registered label and any applicable permit. Then check the rules where it will be used. Residue limits require a further check: the APVMA MRL Standard and the Food Standards Code serve different purposes. Neither an active approval nor an MRL entry alone authorises a product's use. See the Code, use guidance and food-sale standard.
Who regulates agricultural chemicals in Australia?
APVMA's national role includes regulating supply and sale. States and territories have their own use controls. Victoria, for example, regulates chemical use and some supply within the state. Its controls cover application, sale and records. That division means a national registration check does not replace a local chemical-use check.
For pesticide registration, distinguish the active constituent from the finished product. The Code provides separate applications and decisions for active approval, product registration and label approval. An approved active does not register every product containing it. A supplier checking an agricultural chemical product must therefore look beyond the active's name to the product and label approvals.
The assessed pathway also has distinct criteria. Active constituents must meet safety criteria. Products must meet safety, trade and efficacy criteria or comply with an established standard. Label approval has separate labelling requirements. These are an overview of the Code's requirements, not a complete application checklist. Do not assume every product follows an identical pathway.
Where to find an approved pesticides list
Use PubCRIS, APVMA's Public Chemical Registration Information System, to check registered products and current labels. For particular uses, also consult the APVMA permits database. Agriculture Victoria directs users to these resources in its off-label chemical-use guidance.
A static list of agricultural chemicals cannot answer whether a particular product can be used for your purpose. Compare the proposed use with the specific product's label, then check any permit and local off-label rules. Even the container label can be out of date, so consult the current registered label rather than relying only on the pack. Some permits authorise uses that would otherwise be prohibited, subject to their conditions. Agriculture Victoria explains these checks.
For a practical lookup, work through these questions:
- Which specific product and active constituent are involved?
- What does the current registered label allow for the proposed crop or host, pest and use?
- Does an applicable permit cover the proposed use, and what conditions does it impose?
- What does the relevant state or territory allow?
- Which residue requirements apply to the resulting food or feed?
This is a lookup sequence, not a statutory registration procedure. It brings together the separate checks in the Agvet Code, use guidance and Food Standards Code.
Some off-label uses are allowed in Victoria, subject to constraints. That does not give permission across Australia. Nor does every off-label use necessarily require an APVMA permit. Check the jurisdiction and the exact use. Victoria's guidance is an example of local rules, not a national rulebook.
Where agricultural chemical MRLs sit
The relevant APVMA instrument is the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (MRL Standard for Residues of Chemical Products) Instrument 2023. MRL means maximum residue limit. The instrument contains separate tables for food, animal feed and uses where MRLs are not necessary.
As checked on 6 November 2026, the latest version was compilation 17, F2026C01120. Its compilation date was 20 October 2026, and it was registered on 2 November 2026. Use the official version details to identify the text being consulted. Compilation 16 applied from 21 August to 19 October 2026, according to the version history.
The tables answer different questions:
| Table | What it covers | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Table 1 | MRLs and extraneous residue limits, or ERLs, in food commodities | Entries can concern approved uses or extraneous contamination. They are not product registrations. |
| Table 4 | MRLs and ERLs in animal-feed commodities | Limits are normally on a dry-weight basis. Check Table 1 for commodities also used as primary human foods. |
| Table 5 | Uses of substances where MRLs are not necessary | Each entry concerns specified uses, not unrestricted use of the substance. |
These distinctions appear in Schedule 1, Part 2 of the MRL Standard. For animal feed, commodities also used as primary human foods generally are not repeated in Table 4. Their Table 1 limits also apply when those commodities are used as feed.
Table 5 needs a different reading. Its rationale includes residues that do not or should not occur in food or feed. It also includes residues indistinguishable from natural food components, or otherwise without toxicological significance. A Table 5 entry does not mean a numeric MRL was simply overlooked. Nor does it replace product registration, label approval or any required permit under the separate approval and use rules.
Check food-sale limits separately
For food sold in Australia, consult Standard 1.4.2 together with Schedule 20 of the Food Standards Code. Section 1.4.2-4 ties the permission to the chemical, food and amount specified in Schedule 20. An APVMA Table 1 entry does not replace this food-sale check.
FSANZ describes an MRL as the highest legally allowed agvet chemical residue in food sold in Australia. This includes domestically produced and imported food. Its MRL explanation provides context; use the legislation for the operative requirements. Schedule 20 applies in Australia only, despite being part of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
Some lookups require more than Schedule 20. Standard 1.4.2 also refers to Schedule 21 for ERLs and Schedule 22 for commodity descriptions and portions. If the issue involves extraneous residues or uncertainty about the food category, follow those cross-references in the standard.
For a food-sale lookup, start with the chemical and the specific food, then read the amount allowed. Do not stop at finding the chemical's name somewhere in Schedule 20. The permission depends on the combination described in Standard 1.4.2 and Schedule 20. If the commodity description is uncertain, resolve that through the referenced commodity definitions before using the entry. Keep this check separate from the product's agricultural use instructions.
The distinction works both ways. A food MRL does not authorise pesticide application. For that, return to the product's label, applicable permits and local use rules. Food-sale compliance and lawful chemical use are separate questions under the Food Standards Code and agvet approval system.
Keep a record of the source checked
For a product or use decision, save the current label and applicable permit separately from the residue lookup. Note the jurisdiction checked, the proposed use and any permit conditions. For a residue lookup, record the chemical, commodity, table and version consulted. This makes the basis for each conclusion clear without treating a residue entry as use permission. The separate functions are set out in the use guidance and MRL Standard.
RegAffairs AI offers citation-backed help with Australia's agricultural chemical rules, alongside your live product and permit checks. For food for sale in Australia, the legal residue check remains Standard 1.4.2 and its referenced schedules.